Michael “Mickey” Ross AMHERST, Mass.—The Yiddish Book Center, a nonprofit Jewish cultural organization, has received a bequest of $3 million from the estate of TV writer and producer Michael “Mickey” Ross. The gift will go directly into the Book Center’s endowment, providing financial stability and programmatic support as the dynamic, 30-year-old organization expands its work from book rescue to education.

“This is truly a historic gift, the largest in the Book Center’s history,” said founder and president Aaron Lansky.

Ross was a television writer and producer best known for “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons” and “Three’s Company.” He had a lifelong commitment to Yiddish language and culture. Mr. Ross left a sizeable bequest to the University of California at Los Angeles in support of Yiddish studies and designated the Yiddish Book Center, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and the Los Angeles Jewish Foundation as recipients of the residual of his estate.

Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker. The gift to the Yiddish Book Center was unexpected. “As far as we know Mickey Ross never visited here,” said Lansky, “and we never met face to face.” Among the programs that the bequest will make possible is the appointment of a full-time Yiddish language instructor who will design and teach intensive Yiddish courses, both online and onsite in the Center’s new Kaplen Family Building, which opened last May.

“Our intention,” Lansky noted, “is to create a “Yiddish University” for the hands-on exploration of Jewish language, history and culture. In this way, Mickey Ross’s gift is transformative.”

In the past three decades the Center has rescued a million endangered Yiddish books, strengthened collections at the world’s great libraries, digitized and posted online the full texts of 11,000 Yiddish volumes, and offered a range of innovative programs. With most Yiddish titles collected and safe, the Center is now focusing on educational opportunities for college students, graduate students, and adults. The Center houses exhibitions about Yiddish culture and other unique resources and welcomes thousands of visitors to its building every year.

Along with his incredibly generous cash gift, the residual is still to come. Ross left the Yiddish Book Center a permanent, 25 percent share of his rights to “All in the Family” and other shows. As one of our Board members wrote on hearing the news, “To think that Yiddish will benefit every time Archie Bunker utters an ethnic slur on a rerun is almost too delicious to absorb!”

For more information about the National Yiddish Book Center visit www.yiddishbookcenter.org.